An Agusta A109 is the latest addition to the growing fleet of PremiAir Aviation, a helicopter charter operator based in Denham, near Heathrow, UK.

The aircraft joins two other A109s, as well as three Sikorsky S76s, a Bell 222 and six Eurocopter AS355s. The company also manages 15 IFR twin helicopters based at Denham and Blackbushe, some of which are also operated for business charter.

In addition to offering helicopter charter, management and acquisition services, PremiAir is a Sikorsky service centre and a Bell customer service facility.

The company also supplies and manages fixed wing and and rotary pilots for a number of police forces. "We are the joint market leader for police helicopter operations in the UK," said md David McRobert.

"The police air support services are provided for a mixture of EC135s, MD900s and an Islander fixed-wing (for the Manchester Police). The police market is fairly mature in the UK; there aren't many police forces who will choose to operate a helicopter if they haven't already."

McRobert believes that the latest fleet addition will prove popular for passenger charter flights. It is expected to log 300 hours per year, 85 per cent of which will come from charter missions.

"Our highest utilisation aircraft are flying between 400 to 450 hours. Sometimes the owners limit the number of hours, whereas others want as many hours as possible."

The A109 will fly throughout the UK and into Europe, and PremiAir is confident that it will be in high demand. "It's a highly regarded helicopter because it's fast. Many many of the trips will probably be transporting one or two businesspeople from A to B quickly."

McRobert predicts a general rise in the use of helicopters as business tools, noting that rotary craft can offer the ideal solution to long range business jet users.

"I think there are growth opportunities at every level of the twin IFR market, particularly due to the growing congestion of UK ground transportation. We have seen more and more businesses and individuals turning to helicopter chartering as a means to save time," he said. "As the roads become more congested, I think the market will grow."

Despite this, there are definite obstacles to overcome before the UK – and London especially – can really be called 'helicopter friendly.'

"The challenge for the UK helicopter industry comes from within the infrastructure we work with. It would be great if London was serviced with more than just Battersea Heliport. Helicopters are becoming more important and the most progressive city developers are those that factor helicopters into their city's infrastructure. Unfortunately, there is only a handful of cities in the UK with downtown heliport potential.

"Businessmen are flying into the UK by business jet all the time, and then they have to face hours in a car. Why spoil a good business jet by sitting in a traffic jam in a car afterwards?"